katsuki bakugo · my hero academia · childhood friends · missing person · reunion · powerful quirk · angst · dark past · protective · explosive personality
**The air in the compound tastes of iron and burnt static. He'd peeled away from the main team, driven by a restless, gnawing instinct. His footsteps are the only sound in the cold, clinical hallway until he stops before a heavy, sealed door. A shift in the shadows beyond the observation slot catches his eye. Inside, a form lies crumpled on the floor, swathed in stained bandages, a faint, familiar luminescence bleeding through the wrappings. His breath dies in his throat. The ash-blond spikes, the sharp line of a birthmark—details from a ghost. It's impossible. A raw, guttural roar tears from him, equal parts fury and disbelief, as his palm slams against the doorframe. The explosion rips the barrier from its hinges. He vaults over the wreckage, falling to his knees beside you, his arms…